


Sensitivity

by PetitMinou



Series: Spectrum [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Autistic Character, Fluff, Gen, pre-reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-05-29 16:52:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6384631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PetitMinou/pseuds/PetitMinou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrien finds out more about his powers as Chat Noir.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sensitivity

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this written since well before Origins aired, I just got up the energy to type it up now, so there's some minor canon contradictions.  
> This is my personal headcanon for Adrien's "super senses" as Chat Noir.

Adrien doesn’t really mean to check the Ladyblog daily. After all, he sees Ladybug nearly that often in person. But now it’s become part of his routine, and he opens it as soon as he gets home from school, or whatever photo-shoot his father has him scheduled for that day. He scans the photos and videos, frequently returning to a few favorites, enjoying his Lady’s voice and the soft way she looks into Alya’s camera.

There are new pictures almost every day, along with posts Alya writes herself, or ones she publishes from fans. Most of them are about Ladybug, obviously, but it’s still a warm feeling when he sees his name mentioned. Well, _technically_ Chat Noir’s name, but it’s the same thing.

Several months after he takes to running around Paris in a leather cat suit he spots the first article that’s only about him, not Ladybug. It’s titled ‘What are Chat Noir’s Real Powers?’ and he hesitates for a moment before clicking on it. “Hey, Plagg, have you seen this?”

His Kwami yawns hugely, hovering over to land straight in the middle of Adrien’s keyboard. “Eh. Don’t need to. Boring.”

Adrien huffs at him, clicking the link. “Well, _I_ want to know what they think.” He scans the first few paragraphs, smiling slightly. Super strength—obviously, he’d once tipped a _bus_ over single-handed. Super jumping—“What does that even mean? It makes me sound like a cartoon character.”—but he has to concede the point. Near-invincibility granted by his suit, yes. Obviously his baton and its incredibly wide range of abilities.

The next one gives him pause. “Cat-like senses?” he says aloud. “Wait, what does that mean?” He gets no answer from the Kwami that’s now (loudly) feigning sleep on the center of his keyboard, and he turns back to the article.

‘Chat Noir appears to react quicker than Ladybug does to noises, and seems to be able to hear Akumas coming from far away. I also heard from an inside source that he was _smelling_ Ladybug during one of their recent adventures.’

“That wasn’t my fault, she smelled like cookies that day!” Adrien protests out loud, and Plagg “wakes” with a gag.

“Don’t talk to me about your failed love life. Gross.”

Adrien shoots him a dirty look, but he can’t be distracted from the article for long. “Seriously, what does it mean by ‘cat-like senses’? I didn’t think anything was that different in the suit. I mean, I’m not transformed right now and I can still smell that piece of Camembert you stashed in my gym bag.”

Plagg has the decency to look somewhat guilty. “No one else can smell it, if it makes you feel any better,” he mutters, turning away from his Chosen.

“I’m serious, Plagg, do you do something to my senses when I’m transformed?”

His Kwami heaves a put-upon sigh, and finally sits up and seems to actually pay attention for the first time. “I help you a little bit. I filter out the irrelevant stuff so you can concentrate on what matters, but the sensitivity is all you, kid.”

Adrien bites his lip, and Plagg hovers up in front of his face. “What’s that look about? It’s one of the things that make you a great Chat Noir.”

“I’m a great Chat Noir?” Adrien asks, pleased, and his Kwami scoffs.

“I only choose the best.”

“But other people really don’t notice sounds like that? Or smell your cheese? I thought they all just assumed my bag smells like that because of me, and they were too polite to tell me I stink.”

Plagg shrugs, crossing his arms behind his head. “I don’t pay attention to other humans, how should I know? Unless they have cheese, of course,” he adds as an after thought.

“You’re no help at all,” Adrien complains, turning back to finish his article. He needs to test this, and he has a good idea of how to go about it.

* * *

Adrien shows up to school a bit early the next day. He’d skipped meeting Ladybug the night before, prioritizing getting enough sleep. He’s unsurprised to see Nino already waiting outside the school doors, and grins as he pads up behind the other boy.

Nino’s head bobs along with the music in his headphones, and by the time he’s fifteen feet away Adrien knows what song he’s listening to. “Brittany Spears? Seriously, dude?”

Nino jumps, yanking his headphones off as he turns, and relaxes when he sees Adrien. “I…no it…yeah, okay. Guilty pleasure, man.”

Adrien laughs and shrugs, waiting as the last notes fade out.

As the next song starts he names it within thirty seconds. “Dude, you can hear that?” Nino sounds impressed as he glances down at the headphones.

“Yeah?” Adrien rubs the back of his neck, uncomfortable with the way his friend is looking at him.

“What about now?” Nino toggles the volume down and skips to the next song. Adrien names it in seconds. Nino turns it down farther, and repeats the process. By the third song Nino is grinning. “Dude, it’s like you have super powers!” he says excitedly, offering a fist bump. Adrien accepts, smiling shyly because, well, he’s not wrong…

“What’s this about super powers?” That’s Alya coming up behind them, and Adrien opens his mouth to explain.

Nino beats him to it. “Watch this!”

Adrien begs off when he’s demonstrated his apparently-better-than-most hearing for Alya, Juleka, Kim, Alix, and Rose. He claims he has to use the restroom, and once inside the empty room he sighs out loud. “Well, that explains how people ignore annoying sounds. And now the teacher never catches Alix listening to her music under her hair.”

“Told you.” Plagg sounds unbearably smug, and Adrien groans.

“It also explains how they never notice your annoying voice coming out of my bag.”

Plagg elects not to answer, as the warning bell rings and Adrien hustles off to class.

* * *

The second part of his plan comes into play at lunch. He sits down next to Nino and drops his gym bag at his feet. “Sorry about the smell, I didn’t have a chance to drop it in my locker—“

“Eh, mine is worse,” Nino mumbles, already halfway through his sandwich.

Adrien wilts a bit, because okay, it would’ve been nice to have super senses _not_ granted by the suit. He’s about to take his first bite of his own lunch when a shadow falls over them, and he looks up.

“Hey boys, mind if we join you?” Alya has a white-knuckled grip on Marinette’s wrist for some reason, and Adrien makes a point to smile at the dark-haired girl as Nino mumbles something affirmative through his mouthful of food. She manages an approximation of a smile back, and he scoots down the bench to make room.

As he does his foot knocks into his gym bag, spilling some of the contents out onto the ground, and _crap_ when did Plagg have time to hide more Camembert in it?  It definitely didn’t smell that bad this morning!  He fails to suppress his gag, and _that’s_ what draws everyone’s attention.

“You okay dude?” Nino asks, and Adrien accidentally catches Marinette’s eye as he looks up, a glimpse of blue before her gaze skitters away.

“I’m really, really sorry—“ he goes to pick up his stuff, mortified that now not only Nino but Marinette and Alya think he stinks—

“Huh?” Alya blinks at Nino before looking down at him. “Adrien, it’s fine. So you have kinda stinky gym socks, big deal. Marinette’s smell worse—“

“Alya!”

He elects to ignore the tone of complete and utter betrayal as he wrinkles his nose at her. “’Kinda’?”

“Uh, yeah.” Nino fiddles with his headphones before suddenly stuffing his sandwich back into his lunch bag. “What kind of sandwich did I bring today?” he demands.

“Chicken and horseradish,” Adrien answers without thinking, because it’ll take more than a little bit of Camembert to get _that_ smell out of his nose.

Nino whoops, startling all three of the others. “Dude, I told you, you have super powers!”

Alya giggles. “Super senses, like Chat Noir. Right, Marinette?”

She elbows her friend viciously in the ribs, earning another scandalized noise. They fall into a sharply whispered debate, words too rapid for Adrien to make out as he slightly-dazedly high fives Nino again. He certainly does catch the reedy little voice that whispers, “I told you so” from the inner pocket of his shirt.

**Author's Note:**

> Also due to my own auditory sensitivities, I have no fucking clue what music American teenagers listen to, let alone French kids, and it shows. My apologies.


End file.
